Cambodia: Charity Closes After Scandal

By Reuters

Oct. 22, 2014

The Somaly Mam Foundation, which worked against human trafficking and sexual exploitation, has closed five months after its founder resigned amid allegations of broad deception. In a statement on its website, the organization said it believed strongly in “transparency, integrity and service,” and announced that as of Sept. 30 it had shut down. The foundation operated primarily in Cambodia. Somaly Mam, its founder, resigned after investigations called into question her tale of enduring years as a child sex slave. She has taken over management of a Cambodian nongovernmental organization called Afesip — Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire, or Acting for Women in Distressing Situations — that also fights trafficking, Rigmor Schneider, a former Somaly Mam Foundation official, said in a telephone interview.

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